As soon as Chōji finished speaking, the masked man turned and leapt off the Hokage Tower. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from their sight. Tsunade, Chōji, Yūgao, and the other ANBU members stood there, frozen, unable to process what had just happened.
Hadn't Obito Uchiha died during the mission at Kannabi Bridge?
Had he faked his death?
Was the Fourth Hokage using him as a spy?
But if that were the case, how could even Kakashi be unaware of it?
Chōji quickly rushed to follow him, hoping to save his father.
Obito's speed was undeniably faster. He reached the battlefield where Kakashi and Pain were fighting first.
Under the vast sky, amidst the fierce winds, a solitary figure lay buried beneath the rubble.
Silver hair, wearing a Konoha-style jōnin vest, and that familiar mask—now slightly damaged.
The wind stirred his hair, and everything around him seemed still, so calm that not even the slightest rise and fall of his chest was visible.
Obito stood there, unmoving, unresponsive, even as Chōji Akimichi caught up behind him.
Seeing Kakashi, now lifeless, Chōji rushed forward, desperate to pull him out from the rubble.
"Kakashi-sensei! Waaah, Kakashi-sensei!! It's all my fault! He used his Sharingan to save me, draining his last ounce of strength and chakra!!"
Kind-hearted as ever, Chōji cried out in anguish, wracked with guilt.
"...He sacrificed himself... so I could deliver the intel to Tsunade-sama... Kakashi-sensei..."
"Kakashi-sensei... he's gone!!!!"
Chōji screamed to the heavens, his voice breaking.
That scream brought Obito's soul back to the surface.
The special chakra, released from the agony, surged toward the nerves in the back of Obito's eyes, bringing with it both sharp pain and a strange, aching sensation. It was unbearably painful, yet it seemed as though there was no pain at all.
A vortex suddenly appeared around the ruins, pulling in the scattered debris and rubble into the alternate dimension of the Sharingan's power.
The lifeless body, unable to stay up, plummeted straight down.
Just before hitting the ground, a hand, gloved in black, caught it.
Obito lifted the silver-haired young ninja, who was about his own height, and disappeared into the vortex of his right eye as Chōji Akimichi stood there, stunned.
Chōji, still shaken by what he had just witnessed, quickly took his father to the hospital for treatment before heading back to the Hokage Tower.
Obito had used Kamui's space-jumping ability, which meant he would appear in the void, disappearing entirely.
Bored and already practicing, young Obito and Kakashi noticed him. Just as they were about to remind him not to forget them, they saw the unmasked Obito, his face dark and gloomy, holding...
None other than the future Kakashi?! The very person they knew too well.
"Hey!!" Young Obito exclaimed in shock. "What happened to him?! His clothes are all torn up—did he get attacked by enemies during a mission?!!"
Young Kakashi, in contrast to his naïveté, already sensed something was wrong.
The person cradled in the Masked Man's arms showed no sign of life in his chest!
It was a corpse! His future self...
Dead?!
He didn't look any different from when he was Naruto's teacher, so... he must've died before he turned thirty?
It was easier to accept than he had imagined. Young Kakashi said nothing, instead blocking Obito, who was eager to ask more questions.
The Masked Man, radiating a sense of utter despondency, made no attempt to acknowledge them. After taking a few more steps within Kamui's Dimension, he vanished once again into the vortex in the void.
Beyond the whirlpool lay the rooftop of the Hokage Tower, the very place he had just visited moments ago.
He seemed to arrive atop the tower, carrying with him a chilling wind and a malevolent aura as if from the underworld. His lone Sharingan stared blankly at Tsunade.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan?!" Tsunade never expected this Uchiha youth to possess the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan?!
But soon, her attention was drawn to the lifeless body cradled in Obito's arms.
Yūgao Uzuki gasped, "Kakashi-senpai!!"
They could all see it—the silver-haired ninja, his chest no longer rising or falling, was already a corpse...
Yūgao remembered the countless mornings when she brought white bouquets to visit Hayate, always finding Kakashi-senpai standing solemnly before the Memorial Stone, silently confessing his regrets to his fallen comrades and mourning Team Minato, which had been lost to time.
This cruel fate before her eyes filled her with sorrow. "Kakashi-senpai... he never knew you were still alive, did he? If only you had come back sooner. Senpai truly missed you all."
The beauty with violet-streaked hair gazed with eyes full of untold sorrow.
"He's finally at peace," Yūgao murmured. "Because of what happened back then, he always felt he hadn't kept his promise to you. If you were still alive, maybe coming back sooner would have eased his grief."
Her voice was low and hoarse, a bitter sigh over Kakashi never having seen Obito again while alive. Not knowing that Obito still lived, he left this world with that regret.
Her words, though soft, hit Obito's heart with the force of a hammer.
"....."
What did any of this have to do with Kakashi?
He lost an eye protecting him.
He nearly suffered grave injury from the vision impairment caused by that loss.
He had saved him, then foolishly insisted Kakashi receive his Sharingan.
Afterward, the Hatake clan's sword techniques faded, and the ninja world gained another copy ninja, one severely lacking in chakra.
He had forced Rin onto Kakashi, and she died because of him. But somehow, the blame had fallen squarely on Kakashi.
So he was just tired. He wanted to escape, didn't he?
Suddenly, it all felt utterly meaningless.
If even Kakashi had died, then even if the original plan succeeded and the Infinite Tsukuyomi came to pass, who would experience that world where Rin was still alive for him?
The unhealed void in his heart only grew larger, a wound that no amount of healing could fix.
An ANBU member spoke up in an attempt to console him: "Regardless, the Hatake Jōnin and Team Chōza retrieved critical intel. Their actions saved the village from many casualties."
"... " His words struck a nerve with Obito at that moment.
Like the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Just for some worthless intel," Obito sneered. "Living within this ninja world's system, a ninja's life is truly cheap."
In the end, Rin died for the village. Minato-sensei and his family died for the village. Even Kakashi died for the village. Yet he, himself, had been forced away from his dreams for over a decade—all for some conspiracy.
"Hey! What are you saying?!" One ANBU member snapped angrily at Obito Uchiha's words.
Another ANBU stopped him.
"Enough. He doesn't mean it. Try to understand his state of mind." If this man truly was Obito Uchiha, it seemed all his comrades had left this world, just like Kakashi before.
Tsunade bit her lip, staring at him. She found it hard to believe that the Fourth Hokage had ever planted such a hidden piece on the board.
Yet now, smoke filled Konoha. The village, usually peaceful, had become a battlefield. Konoha Hospital was overflowing, with injured ninjas lying even in the outer courtyards.
All of this was the work of Akatsuki's Pain.
For Obito, it felt like the same unbreakable chain of cause and effect. He had killed Nagato and their comrades, hastened Yahiko's death, reshaped Akatsuki, and continued to push the Eye of the Moon Plan for Black Zetsu and Madara's schemes.
What a sin...
He and Danzō Shimura had killed Yahiko, leading to Nagato's transformation into the current Pain. Pain's arrival in Konoha and the death of Kakashi were the inevitable consequences of this world's karma.
It was also called—retribution.
This was the consequence of him continuing to push forward the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Kakashi was truly dead. The rumors of him becoming the Sixth Hokage were likely false intelligence.
Obito's face remained blank, his dark pupils sending a chill through the air.
But he still relayed the most crucial intelligence Konoha needed at that moment...
"Pain possesses the Six Paths."
"The Naraka Path, with the power of Yama's Judgment."
"The Preta Path, with the power to absorb chakra."
"The Animal Path, with the power of Summoning Jutsu."
"The Human Path, with the power to extract memories."
"The Asura Path, with the power of an arsenal."
"And finally, the Deva Path..."
Amidst the astonished gazes of the others, Obito Uchiha continued: "Pain's most powerful ability—besides the divine techniques Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in—is Chibaku Tensei, capable of sealing anything within it."
"You know this in such detail?!!"
Obito Uchiha let out a mocking laugh, then delivered the ultimate betrayal!
"You thought Pain was Akatsuki's leader? Don't make me laugh. He's just a pawn being used."
"!!"
Tsunade, the ANBU beside her, and Chōji Akimichi—who had just rushed back from Konoha Hospital—were stunned.
"That Pain…"
"Not Akatsuki's leader?!!"
"What does this mean?! If that Pain isn't the leader, does Akatsuki have someone even more powerful?!!"
"And how do you know all this?!"
Obito Uchiha remained unmoved by their questions, simply stating the information he intended to share.
"The real Pain is hiding elsewhere, but he's just being used by the 'Masked Man'. The ones who truly deserve to die are the Masked Man and Black Zetsu."
"The Masked Man and Black Zetsu?!"
Obito: "Black Zetsu isn't particularly strong, but he's impossible to kill. His abilities include controlling White Zetsu and various escape tactics. He's mainly extremely cunning. The only way to deal with him is a foolproof, powerful seal—like the Reaper Death Seal."
"You even know about the Reaper Death Seal?" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.
ANBU: "Then what are the abilities of this Masked Man you mentioned?"
"...."
They watched as the man claiming to be Obito Uchiha paused, seemingly amused by the question.
"The Masked Man's abilities are: Space-Time Dōjutsu and Wood Release."
Dōjutsu?!
So he's either Uchiha or Hyūga?!
But the Hyūga only have Byakugan. All the flashy eye techniques come from the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan. Does that mean Akatsuki's true leader is still a Uchiha?!!
"The way to kill him..." Obito paused. "Just tell him: For Madara and Black Zetsu, Rin Nohara was merely a pawn used to force Obito Uchiha to his death. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a fake. It's all Black Zetsu's scheme. There is no method that can sever causality and bring happiness to everyone."
The final words came out like self-torture: "Let him die in agony and despair! That alone is his best atonement!"
"What?!" Tsunade and the ANBU froze instantly upon hearing his words!
The method to kill Akatsuki's true mastermind...
Was just a single sentence?!!
"Oh, right. There's one more major risk for you."
Obito seemed to recall someone he'd nearly forgotten...
"I'll eliminate them for you."
With that, the Kamui vortex carried him away from the cruel reality into the dark space of his dōjutsu.
"Wait!" Yūgao couldn't stop him in time, shouting at the closing vortex, "Kakashi-senpai's body is still in your hands!!"
But the 'Masked Man' had already arrived at the platform bearing Kakashi's corpse. Young Obito and Young Kakashi immediately leaped forward!
Up close, they confirmed it was indeed the body of Adult Kakashi he had brought back. Young Obito had never felt such rage—as if his very core was about to explode from fury!
Yet no matter how desperately he wanted to ask why, what had happened outside, the masked man never once met his gaze.
After setting down the body, Adult Obito donned his mask once more.
That white mask bore a mouth split to the ears, a fake smile reminiscent of a clown. Seeking attention through spectacle, hiding tears behind laughter.
A scar marked the left eye of the mask, a recent wound from his battle with the young Kakashi and the young Obito.
It bore an uncanny resemblance to Kakashi.
Mask in place, he immediately left Kamui's Dimension, arriving at a dark, oppressive place.
This was Konoha, already rotting...
"Thus, Tsunade's era will come to an end."